In the debate Janet said:
Thank you to the Member for bringing this motion here today, and you did so in a very eloquent and balanced manner. I welcome this debate, which highlights the absolute importance of the role of our GPs, and I have no fetish—as the Member suggested that my colleagues have in UKIP—about GPs, but they are a fundamental first step in any patient seeking a diagnosis. Primary care is indeed the first point of contact with the NHS for more than 90 per cent of our patients, yet surgeries in my constituency and across Wales are facing severe pressure, with patients contacting me regarding access on a daily basis. Llys Meddyg Surgery in Conwy ended its NHS contract last year as a result of an unmanageable workload, with both GPs working 12 hour days. Penrhyn Bay and Deganwy surgeries, seeing their GP provision drop from five to two. How do you mange those numbers of patients—thousands of them?
GPs are telling me now that the system is at breaking point. We’ve seen years of chronic underinvestment—yes, Members—and 17 years of a Welsh Labour Government, propped up by Plaid Cymru and the Lib Dems, have actually been responsible for the funding for our GP services across Wales. We’ve seen the funding fall by £20 million over four years and the sector facing severe staff shortage and surgery closures, leading to the Royal College of General Practitioners warning that GPs in Wales are facing a perfect storm of increased demand, burgeoning workloads and a shrinking workforce. The BMA highlighted its findings in the autumn, that more than a quarter of GPs in Wales are now considering leaving the profession. Sixty per cent feel they do not have a good work-life balance, and 80 per cent are worried about the sustainability of their own provision. The BMA have also described it as a crisis in GP provision.
Clearly, the system is under immense pressure. In 2005-06, GP care received over 10 per cent of NHS spend; now, it is down to less than 8 per cent. Where investment is made, it is not having the desired effect. The royal college of GPs has said of the recent £42.6 million invested into primary care that,
‘any money that’s coming through the cluster system seems to be really very slow in actually making any difference to most of the practices. The way that the clusters work is very varied across Wales, so that is putting increased inequalities into the system.’
Cabinet Secretary, how are you monitoring this? In the fourth Assembly, the Health and Social Care Committee, of which I was a member, called on the Welsh Government to address the GP recruitment and retention crisis. Scotland has a significantly higher number of GPs per head than Wales, with 8.1 per 10,000, compared to just 6.5 in Wales. The latest figures show the number of GP practitioners in Wales fell from September 2014 by nine just to 1,997. Furthermore, the proportion and number of GPs aged 55 and over now cover 23 per cent of the workforce. So, it is vital that the Welsh Government is proactive in ensuring the workforce is futureproofed ahead of the deserved retirement of many of our hardworking GPs.
Finally, our amendment, as touched on by my colleague, Angela Burns, seeks to recognise the importance that allied healthcare professionals such as pharmacists, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and paramedics play in ensuring that primary care is effectively delivered. Effective integration and joint working between the health and social care sectors is vital in relieving pressures on GPs. In conclusion, the immense pressure that the sector is under means that it is vital that the Welsh Government ensures significant investment in resources, people and infrastructure. My questions, to finish off, are: will you provide an update on the outcomes today of the implementation of your primary care workforce plan and the impact of the introduction of the clinical lead for primary care? What uptake has the refreshed employment offer and incentives for GPs coming to work in Wales had? We want to know. And finally, how are you working with medical schools in Wales to increase exposure to general practice during medical training? Cabinet Secretary, the crisis in GP provision is real; denial is not an option.